Message forwarding method and apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the embodiments of the present application is a message forwarding method. A first network device may acquire a data message, wherein the data message comprises elastic slice information, and the elastic slice information gives an instruction to use an elastic network slice to forward the data message; and on the basis of the elastic slice information, the first network device uses the elastic network slice to forward the data message, wherein resources of the elastic network slice are resources that can be preempted, in other words, the resources of the elastic network slice can be occupied by other services which do not belong to the elastic network slice, thereby ensuring the quality of service of the other services. It can be seen therefrom that, by using the solution, network resources can be rationally utilized, such that more services can be transmitted by means of a network, and the quality of service provided for the services is ensured to the greatest extent. In an example, if there is a need to transmit a new service in the network, an elastic network slice can be used to carry the new service, and thus the quality of service of other services is not affected by the addition of the new service.

Description

Message forwarding method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on March 27, 2024, with application number 202410358618.9 and invention name “A Message Forwarding Method and Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a message forwarding method and device. Background Art

[0003] With the development of network technology, the number of services carried by networks is also increasing. For example, in operator networks, there are a large number of integrated bearer networks. Integrated bearer networks are networks that can simultaneously carry multiple types of services, such as to-customer (ToC), to-business (ToB), and to-home (ToH) services.

[0004] Moreover, with the development of computer technology, more and more businesses need to be transmitted through networks such as the aforementioned integrated bearer network. For example, against the backdrop of the rapid development of large artificial intelligence (AI) models, a large number of companies have demands for uploading big data to intelligent computing centers for training.

[0005] As more and more businesses need to be transmitted over the network, how to rationally utilize network resources to transmit business data has become an urgent problem that needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application provides a message forwarding method and device that can reasonably utilize network resources to transmit business data.

[0007] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a message forwarding method, which can be applied to a first network device. The first network device can obtain a data message, which includes elastic slice information, and the elastic slice information indicates that the data message is forwarded using an elastic network slice. After the first network device obtains the data message, it can forward the data message using the elastic network slice based on the elastic slice information. The resources of the elastic network slice are resources that can be preempted. Precisely because the resources of the elastic network slice are resources that can be preempted, the resources of the elastic network slice can be occupied by other services that do not belong to the elastic network slice, thereby ensuring the service quality of other services. It can be seen that by using this solution, network resources can be reasonably utilized, so that more services can be transmitted through the network, and the service quality provided to the services can be guaranteed as much as possible. In an example, if a new service needs to be transmitted in the network, the elastic network slice can be used to carry the new service, and the addition of the new service will not affect the service quality of other services.

[0008] In a possible implementation, the first network device obtains the data message, which may be generated during the specific implementation. In this case, the first network device may receive the service message, and after receiving the service message, the first network device may further determine the resources for forwarding the service message. When the first network device determines that the service message needs to be forwarded through an elastic network slice, the first network device may obtain the data message based on the service message and the elastic slice information. Specifically, the first network device may use the elastic slice information to re-encapsulate the service message to obtain the data message.

[0009] In one possible implementation, a user-side interface on a first network device can be associated with an elastic network slice. For a user-side interface associated with an elastic network slice, a service message received by the first network device through the interface needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice. In this scenario, the first network device can determine that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice based on the interface through which the service message is received. Specifically, the first network device can determine that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice when the interface through which the service message is received is an interface associated with an elastic network slice.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the first network device receives first indication information sent by the controller, where the first indication information indicates that the interface is associated with the elastic network slice. Accordingly, after receiving the first indication information, the first network device can associate the interface for receiving the service message with the elastic network slice. In this way, when the first network device receives the service message, it can determine that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice if the interface for receiving the service message is an interface associated with the elastic network slice.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the first network device may pre-store flow information of messages that need to be forwarded through an elastic network slice. Accordingly, after receiving the service message, the first network device may first determine the flow information to which the service message belongs, and further, in combination with the pre-stored flow information of messages that need to be forwarded through an elastic network slice, determine whether the service message needs to be forwarded through an elastic network slice. As a specific example, if the pre-stored flow information of messages that need to be forwarded through an elastic network slice includes the flow information to which the service message belongs, the first network device may determine that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the first network device may receive a flow processing policy sent by the controller, wherein the flow processing policy indicates that the service message corresponding to the flow information needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice. Accordingly, after receiving the flow processing policy, the first network device may save the flow information of the service message that needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice as indicated by the flow processing policy. In this way, when the first network device receives a service message, it may determine that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice based on the flow information to which the service message belongs.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the first network device may obtain the data message by receiving the data message sent by the second network device, that is, the first network device may receive the data message from the second network device upstream of the first network device.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the elastic slice information included in the data message may include an identifier of the elastic network slice. In this case, the first network device may forward the data message using the elastic network slice based on the identifier of the elastic network slice.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the elastic network slice may be pre-configured on the first network device. In this case, the first network device may also receive configuration information of the elastic network slice sent by the controller, and the configuration information of the elastic network slice is used to configure the elastic network slice on the network side interface of the first network device. The configuration information may include: an identifier of the elastic network slice and resource information of the elastic network slice. Among them, the resource information of the elastic network slice refers to information related to the resources allocated to the elastic network slice. The resource information may, for example, include an identifier of the network side interface corresponding to the elastic network slice, and information about the resources allocated to the elastic network slice.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the configuration information may further include identification information indicating that the resources of the elastic network slice are preemptible resources. As a specific example, the identification information may be the type of the elastic network slice. In other words, the configuration information also includes the type of the elastic network slice, and the type of the elastic network slice indicates that the resources of the elastic network slice are preemptible resources. After receiving the configuration information, the first network device may determine, based on the type, that the resources of the elastic network slice are preemptible resources.

[0017] In one possible implementation, elastic network slices may also have priorities. Different elastic network slices may have different priorities. In this case, the aforementioned configuration information may also include the priority of the elastic network slice. When other services need to preempt resources, they may prioritize the elastic resources of lower-priority elastic network slices to ensure the quality of service provided by higher-priority elastic network slices as much as possible.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the elastic network slice may be a network slice corresponding to a certain tenant. In this case, the elastic network slice may be used to carry one or more types of services corresponding to the tenant. In another example, the elastic network slice may be a network slice corresponding to a certain service. In this case, the elastic network slice may be used to carry the aforementioned services corresponding to multiple tenants.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the elastic slice information included in the data message may include an indicator bit indicating that the data message is forwarded using an elastic network slice. In this case, the first network device may forward the data message using the elastic network slice based on the indicator bit.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the first network device may pre-enable a function of forwarding traffic using the elastic network slice. In this case, the first network device receives second indication information sent by the controller, the second indication information instructing the first network device to enable the function of forwarding traffic using the elastic network slice.

[0021] In one possible implementation, if the elastic slice information is an identifier of an elastic network slice, then in this scenario, the second indication information may include the identifier of the elastic network slice. In this way, when the first network device receives a data packet including the elastic network slice identifier, it can determine that the data packet needs to be forwarded using the elastic network slice.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the data message is an Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) message. In order to avoid extending the message structure of the IPv4 message, the indicator bit can be carried by the available fields in the IPv4 header of the IPv4 message. In one example, considering that the options field in the IPv4 header of the IPv4 message is not currently used, the indicator bit can be carried by the options field in the IPv4 header. For example, it can be carried by one of the bits in the options field in the IPv4 header. When the value of the bit is 1, it indicates that the options field in the IPv4 header carries the indicator bit. In another example, considering that there are still bits in the type of service field in the IPv4 header of the IPv4 message that have not been used, that is, there are still available bits in the type of service field. Therefore, the indicator bit can be carried by the available bits in the type of service field in the IPv4 header. For example, it can be carried by the last bit of the type of service field in the IPv4 header. When the value of this bit is 1, it indicates that the service type field in the IPv4 header carries the indication bit.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the data message is an Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) message. In order to avoid extending the message structure of the IPv6 message, the indicator bit can be carried by the available fields in the IPv6 header of the IPv6 message. In one example, considering that there are still unused bits in the traffic class field in the IPv6 header of the IPv6 message, that is, there are still available bits in the traffic class field. Therefore, the indicator bit can be carried by the available bits in the traffic class field in the IPv6 header. For example, it can be carried by the last bit of the traffic class field in the IPv6 header. When the value of this bit is 1, it means that the service type field in the IPv6 header carries the indicator bit.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the data packet is an IPv6 packet, and the data packet may include a virtual transport network (VTN) option. In some embodiments, considering that the target of the flags field in the VTN option has not been used, the indication bit can be carried by the available bits in the flags field in the VTN option. For example, it can be carried by one of the bits of the flags field in the VTN option. When the value of the bit is 1, it indicates that the flag field in the VTN option carries the indication bit. In other embodiments, considering that the target of the reserved field in the VTN option has not been used, the indication bit can be carried by the available bits in the reserved field in the VTN option. For example, it can be carried by one of the bits of the reserved field in the VTN option. When the value of the bit is 1, it indicates that the reserved field in the VTN option carries the indication bit.

[0025] In one possible implementation, the first network device forwards the data packet using the elastic network slice according to the elastic slice information. There may be multiple implementations in the specific implementation. As an example, in a scenario where the elastic network slice is pre-configured on the first network device, the first network device may forward the data packet using the resources currently occupied by the elastic network slice. As another example, in a scenario where the first network device enables the function of forwarding traffic using the elastic network slice, the first network device may forward the data packet using idle resources.

[0026] In one possible implementation, the resources of the elastic network slice may include forwarding resources of the elastic network slice. For example, they may include one or more of the bandwidth, cache, and queue of the elastic network slice. The queue mentioned here may be a subscriber queue. The bandwidth of the elastic network slice mentioned here may be reflected as the maximum information rate of the elastic network slice and / or the committed information rate of the elastic network slice.

[0027] In the second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a message forwarding device, which is applied to a first network device, and the device includes: an acquisition unit, used to obtain a data message, the data message includes elastic slice information, the elastic slice information indicates that the data message is forwarded using an elastic network slice, and the resources of the elastic network slice are resources that can be preempted; a sending unit, used to forward the data message using the elastic network slice according to the elastic slice information.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the acquisition unit includes a receiving unit and a processing unit; the receiving unit is used to receive a service message; the processing unit is used to determine that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice, and obtain the data message based on the service message and the elastic slice information.

[0029] In one possible implementation, determining that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice includes: determining that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice based on the interface for receiving the service message.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the receiving unit is further used to: receive first indication information sent by the controller, where the first indication information indicates that the interface is associated with the elastic network slice.

[0031] In one possible implementation, determining that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice includes: determining that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice based on the flow information to which the service message belongs.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the receiving unit is further used to: receive a flow processing policy sent by the controller, where the flow processing policy indicates that the service message corresponding to the flow information needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the acquiring unit is specifically a receiving unit, and the receiving unit is configured to receive the data message sent by the second network device.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the elastic slice information includes: an identifier of the elastic network slice.

[0035] In a possible implementation, the device includes a receiving unit that is further used to: receive configuration information of the elastic network slice sent by the controller, and the configuration information of the elastic network slice includes: an identifier of the elastic network slice and resource information of the elastic network slice.

[0036] In one possible implementation, the configuration information also includes the type of the elastic network slice, and the type of the elastic network slice indicates that the resources of the elastic network slice are resources that can be preempted.

[0037] In one possible implementation, the configuration information also includes the priority of the elastic network slice.

[0038] In one possible implementation, the elastic network slice is a network slice corresponding to a certain tenant, or the elastic network slice is a network slice corresponding to a certain service.

[0039] In one possible implementation, the elastic slice information includes: an indication bit indicating the use of elastic network slices for forwarding.

[0040] In one possible implementation, the apparatus includes a receiving unit that is further used to: receive second indication information sent by the controller, wherein the second indication information instructs the first network device to enable the function of forwarding traffic using the elastic network slice.

[0041] In one possible implementation, the data packet is an Internet Protocol version 4 IPv4 packet, and the elastic slice information is carried through the options field in the IPv4 header of the data packet.

[0042] In one possible implementation, the data packet is an IPv4 packet, and the elastic slice information is carried through the available bits in the service type field in the IPv4 header of the data packet.

[0043] In one possible implementation, the data packet is an Internet Protocol version 6 IPv6 packet, and the elastic slice information is carried through available bits in a traffic class field in the IPv6 header of the data packet.

[0044] In one possible implementation, the data packet is an IPv6 packet, the data packet includes a virtual transport network option VTN option, and the elastic slice information is carried through an identification flags field or a reserved field in the VTN option.

[0045] In a possible implementation, the sending unit is used to: forward the data message using idle resources according to the elastic slice information.

[0046] In one possible implementation, the resources of the elastic network slice include: forwarding resources of the elastic network slice.

[0047] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a device comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store instructions or computer programs; the processor is used to execute the instructions or computer programs and execute the method described in the first aspect and any one of the above first aspects.

[0048] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, including instructions or a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in the first aspect and any one of the above first aspects.

[0049] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions or a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in the first aspect and any one of the above aspects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0050] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in this application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0051] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary application scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG2 is a flow chart of a message forwarding method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG3a is a schematic diagram of the structure of a VTN option provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG3 b is a schematic diagram of the structure of an IPv4 header provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG3c is a schematic diagram of the structure of an IPv6 header provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG4a is a schematic diagram of another exemplary application scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG4 b is a schematic diagram of another exemplary application scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG5 is a schematic structural diagram of a message forwarding device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG6 is a schematic structural diagram of a device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0060] The present application provides a message forwarding method and device that can reasonably utilize network resources to transmit business data.

[0061] The inventors of this application have discovered that with the development of computer technology, more and more businesses need to be transmitted through networks such as the aforementioned integrated bearer network. For example, in the context of the rapid development of large models of artificial intelligence (AI), a large number of companies have the demand to upload big data to the servers of intelligent computing centers for training. For another example, in the intelligent driving scenario, there is a demand to upload surveying and mapping data to the server for processing. For another example, in the film and television production scenario, there is a demand to upload materials shot at the film and television base to the server for rendering.

[0062] Currently, the data upload requirements mentioned in the above scenario can be achieved through offline transportation. Specifically, the data to be uploaded can be stored on a mobile hard drive, then mailed to the location of the device to be uploaded by express delivery, and then manually uploaded to the corresponding server.

[0063] However, using an offline transfer method to upload data to the server is inefficient. If the data to be uploaded can be uploaded to the server via the network, the efficiency of uploading the data to the server can be effectively improved. In one possible implementation, a dedicated network line can be provided to carry the data to be uploaded, and the data to be uploaded can be transmitted via the dedicated network line.

[0064] However, considering that the amount of data to be uploaded in the aforementioned scenarios is generally large, setting up dedicated lines is relatively costly. Furthermore, in these scenarios, data upload is not always required. Therefore, using dedicated lines can also lead to a waste of dedicated line resources. Furthermore, setting up dedicated lines for the aforementioned data to be uploaded reduces network resources available for carrying other services, which in turn affects the quality of service provided to these other services.

[0065] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a message forwarding method and device. By using the solution of the embodiment of the present application, when a new service needs to be transmitted in the network, the service quality provided for other services can be minimized.

[0066] Before introducing the solution provided by the embodiments of the present application, the possible application scenarios of the embodiments of the present application are first introduced.

[0067] Refer to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of an exemplary application scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1, user devices and servers included in enterprises (Figure 1 shows enterprise 1 and enterprise 2) can communicate through an integrated bearer network. Among them:

[0068] The user equipment may be, for example, a terminal device or a server.

[0069] User equipment and edge devices of the integrated bearer network can be connected via customer-premises equipment (CPE). CPE is a type of provider edge equipment (PE). In one example, the edge device in the integrated bearer network connected to the CPE can be an access (ACC) device. The ACC device can communicate with an aggregation (AGG) device, which can be an intermediate network device in the integrated bearer network.

[0070] In one example, the server shown in Figure 1 may be a server in a computing center. The computing center mentioned here may be the aforementioned intelligent computing center. In a specific example, the computing center may be a cloud computing center. In this case, the edge device in the integrated bearer network that connects to the cloud computing center may be a cloud PE.

[0071] Next, in conjunction with Figure 2, the message forwarding method provided in an embodiment of the present application is introduced. Figure 2 is a flow chart of a message forwarding method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method shown in Figure 2 can be applied to a first network device, which can be a CPE. The first network device can also be a network device (such as an edge network device or an intermediate network device) in a comprehensive bearer network such as that shown in Figure 1. The embodiment of the present application does not make specific limitations.

[0072] The method shown in FIG. 2 may include the following steps S101 - S102 .

[0073] S101: The first network device obtains a data packet, where the data packet includes elastic slice information, where the elastic slice information indicates that the data packet is forwarded using an elastic network slice, and the resources of the elastic network slice are resources that can be preempted.

[0074] In one example, the first network device can receive the data packet sent by the second network device. For example, when the first network device is an intermediate network device or an edge network device in the network, the first network device can receive the data packet sent by the second network device upstream thereof. When the first network device is an intermediate network device, the second network device can be, for example, an edge network device. When the first network device is an edge network device, the second network device can be, for example, a CPE.

[0075] In another example, the first network device can generate the data message. For example, when the first network device is a CPE, the first network device can generate the data message. As a specific example, the first network device can receive a service message. For example, the first network device can receive the service message sent by the user device. After the first network device receives the service message, it can further determine the resources for forwarding the service message. When the first network device determines that the service message needs to be forwarded through an elastic network slice, the first network device can obtain the data message based on the service message and the elastic slice information. Specifically, the first network device can use the elastic slice information to re-encapsulate the service message to obtain the data message.

[0076] The embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit the business data. For example, the business data may be data of relatively large volume but not always required for transmission. For example, the business data may be training data in the aforementioned AI large model scenario. In another example, the business data may be surveying and mapping data in the aforementioned intelligent driving scenario. In another example, the business data may be material in a film and television production scenario. And so on, which are not listed here one by one.

[0077] When the first network device determines that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice, there can be multiple implementation methods. Two possible implementation methods are introduced below.

[0078] Implementation method one: The user-side interface on the first network device can be associated with an elastic network slice. The user-side interface refers to an interface used to communicate with a user device. For the user-side interface associated with the elastic network slice, the service message received by the first network device through the interface needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice. In this scenario, the first network device can determine that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice based on the interface for receiving the service message. Specifically, the first network device can determine that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice when the interface for receiving the service message is an interface associated with the elastic network slice.

[0079] In one example, the interface of the first network device that receives the service message may be a physical interface or a logical interface on the first network device. For example, if the user purchases an elastic network slice separately, the physical interface or the logical interface is associated with the elastic network slice.

[0080] In another example, the interface of the first network device that receives the service message may also be a sub-interface of a target interface on the first network device, for example, a sub-interface of a physical interface or a sub-interface of a logical interface. For example, when a user purchases a hybrid network slice, the target interface is associated with the hybrid network slice, and the target interface may include multiple sub-interfaces, one or more of which are associated with an elastic network slice. The hybrid network slice may include an elastic network slice and a common network slice, and the common network slice may be understood as a network slice whose resources cannot be preempted.

[0081] The logical interface mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may include but is not limited to a flexible Ethernet (FlexE) interface.

[0082] In this scenario, before executing S101, the first network device may also receive a first indication message sent by the controller, and the first indication message indicates that the interface for receiving the service message is associated with an elastic network slice. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the manner in which the controller sends the first indication message to the first network device. For example, the controller may send the first indication message to the first network device through the Path Computation Element Communication Protocol (PCEP) or the Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF). Accordingly, after receiving the first indication message, the first network device may associate the interface for receiving the service message with the elastic network slice. For example, the first network device may bind the interface for receiving the service message to a virtual private network (VPN), and bind the VPN to the elastic network slice.

[0083] Implementation method two: The first network device may pre-store flow information of messages that need to be forwarded through an elastic network slice. Accordingly, after receiving the service message, the first network device may first determine the flow information to which the service message belongs, and further, in combination with the pre-stored flow information of messages that need to be forwarded through an elastic network slice, determine whether the service message needs to be forwarded through an elastic network slice. As a specific example, if the pre-stored flow information of messages that need to be forwarded through an elastic network slice includes the flow information to which the service message belongs, the first network device may determine that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice.

[0084] In this scenario, before executing S101, the first network device may receive a flow processing policy sent by the controller, which flow processing policy may be used, for example, to indicate which service packets need to be forwarded through the elastic network slice. As a specific example, the flow processing policy may be used to indicate that the service packets corresponding to the flow information to which the aforementioned service packets belong need to be forwarded through the elastic network slice. Accordingly, after the first network device receives the flow processing policy, it may save the flow information of the service packets that need to be forwarded through the elastic network slice as indicated by the flow processing policy. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the manner in which the controller sends the flow processing policy to the first network device. For example, the controller may send the flow processing policy to the first network device through PCEP or NETCONF.

[0085] The flow information mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be information used to identify a service flow, and the flow information includes but is not limited to information such as a binary, a triplet, or a quintuple.

[0086] In one example, the elastic slice information may be an identifier of the elastic network slice. In this scenario, the data packet may be, for example, an IPv6 packet, and the identifier of the elastic network slice may be carried in a hop-by-hop (HBH) option header of the IPv6 packet. Specifically, the HBH option header includes a VTN option. For understanding, reference may be made to Figure 3a, which is a structural diagram of a VTN option provided in an embodiment of the present application. In one example, the identifier of the elastic network slice may be carried by the VTN identifier (ID) field of the VTN option. Regarding other fields in the VTN option, no repeated description is given here.

[0087] In another example, the elastic slice information may be an indication bit for indicating forwarding using elastic network slices.

[0088] The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the carrying position of the indicator bit in the data message. The carrying position of the indicator bit in the data message may be related to the type of the data message.

[0089] As an example, if the data message is an IPv4 message, then in order to avoid expanding the message structure of the IPv4 message, the indicator bit can be carried by an available field in the IPv4 header of the IPv4 message. See Figure 3b, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of an IPv4 header provided by an embodiment of the present application. In one example, considering that the options field in the IPv4 header of the IPv4 message is currently unused, the indicator bit can be carried by the options field in the IPv4 header. For example, it can be carried by one of the bits in the options field in the IPv4 header. When the value of this bit is 1, it indicates that the options field in the IPv4 header carries the indicator bit. In another example, considering that there are still unused bits in the service type field in the IPv4 header of the IPv4 message, that is, there are still available bits in the service type field. Therefore, the indicator bit can be carried by the available bits in the service type field in the IPv4 header. For example, it can be carried by the last bit of the service type field in the IPv4 header. When the value of this bit is 1, it indicates that the service type field in the IPv4 header carries the indication bit.

[0090] The other fields in the IPv4 header are not described in detail here.

[0091] As another example, if the data message is an IPv6 message, in order to avoid extending the message structure of the IPv6 message, the indicator bit can be carried by the available field in the IPv6 header of the IPv6 message. Please refer to Figure 3c, which is a structural diagram of an IPv6 header provided by an embodiment of the present application. In one example, considering that there are still unused bits in the traffic level field in the IPv6 header of the IPv6 message, that is, there are still available bits in the traffic level field. Therefore, the indicator bit can be carried by the available bits in the traffic level field in the IPv6 header. For example, it can be carried by the last bit of the traffic level field in the IPv6 header. When the value of this bit is 1, it means that the service type field in the IPv6 header carries the indicator bit.

[0092] The other fields in the IPv6 header are not described in detail here.

[0093] In another example, if the data packet is an IPv6 packet, the data packet may include a VTN option. The structure of the VTN option may refer to FIG3a above. In some embodiments, considering that the identification field target in the VTN option has not been used, the indication bit may be carried by the available bits in the identification field in the VTN option. For example, it may be carried by one of the bits in the identification field in the VTN option. When the value of the bit is 1, it indicates that the identification field in the VTN option carries the indication bit. In other embodiments, considering that the reserved field target in the VTN option has not been used, the indication bit may be carried by the available bits in the reserved field in the VTN option. For example, it may be carried by one of the bits in the reserved field in the VTN option. When the value of the bit is 1, it indicates that the reserved field in the VTN option carries the indication bit.

[0094] In some embodiments, the first network device may pre-enable the function of forwarding traffic using the elastic network slice. In this case, before executing S101, the first network device receives the second indication information sent by the controller, and the second indication information indicates that the first network device enables the function of forwarding traffic using the elastic network slice. As mentioned above, the aforementioned elastic slice information may be an identifier of the elastic network slice. In this scenario, the second indication information may include the identifier of the elastic network slice. In this way, when the first network device receives a data packet including the elastic network slice identifier, it can determine that the data packet needs to be forwarded using the elastic network slice.

[0095] In some further embodiments, the elastic network slice may be pre-configured on the first network device. Specifically, the elastic network slice may be pre-configured on the network side interface of the first network device. The network side interface refers to an interface for interacting with a network device. In this case, before executing S101, the first network device may also receive configuration information of the elastic network slice sent by the controller, and the configuration information of the elastic network slice is used to configure the elastic network slice on the network side interface of the first network device. The configuration information may include: an identifier of the elastic network slice and resource information of the elastic network slice. The resource information of the elastic network slice refers to information related to resources allocated to the elastic network slice. The resource information may, for example, include an identifier of the network side interface corresponding to the elastic network slice, and information about resources allocated to the elastic network slice.

[0096] In an embodiment of the present application, the resources of the elastic network slice may include the forwarding resources of the elastic network slice. For example, it may include one or more of the bandwidth, cache, and queue of the elastic network slice. The queue mentioned here may be a subscriber queue (SQ). The bandwidth of the elastic network slice mentioned here may be reflected as the peak information rate (PIR) of the elastic network slice and / or the committed information rate (CIR) of the elastic network slice.

[0097] In one example, the configuration information may further include identification information identifying that the resources of the elastic network slice are preemptible resources. As a specific example, the identification information may be the type of the elastic network slice. In other words, the configuration information also includes the type of the elastic network slice, and the type of the elastic network slice indicates that the resources of the elastic network slice are preemptible resources. After receiving the configuration information, the first network device may determine, based on the type, that the resources of the elastic network slice are preemptible resources.

[0098] In an embodiment of the present application, the resources of the elastic network slice are preemptible resources, which means that the resources allocated to the elastic network slice are elastic resources, and the elastic resources are resources that can be preempted by other services. The so-called other services refer to services other than the services carried by the elastic network slice. Precisely because the resources of the elastic network slice are preemptible resources, the resources allocated to the elastic network slice included in the aforementioned configuration information can be understood as the upper limit of resources that can be used by the elastic network slice.

[0099] In one example, elastic network slices may also have priorities. Different elastic network slices may have different priorities. In this case, the aforementioned configuration information may also include the priority of the elastic network slice. When other services need to preempt resources, they may prioritize the elastic resources of lower-priority elastic network slices to ensure the quality of service provided by higher-priority elastic network slices as much as possible.

[0100] In one example, the elastic network slice may be a network slice corresponding to a certain tenant. In this case, the elastic network slice may be used to carry one or more types of services corresponding to the tenant. In another example, the elastic network slice may be a network slice corresponding to a certain service. In this case, the elastic network slice may be used to carry the aforementioned services corresponding to multiple tenants.

[0101] S102: The first network device forwards the data packet using the elastic network slice according to the elastic slice information.

[0102] After the first network device obtains the data packet, it can forward the data packet using the elastic network slice according to the elastic slice information in the data packet. In a scenario where the elastic network slice is pre-configured on the first network device, the first network device can forward the data packet using the resources currently occupied by the elastic network slice. In a scenario where the first network device has enabled the function of forwarding traffic using the elastic network slice, the first network device can forward the data packet using idle resources.

[0103] From the above description, it can be seen that by using the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application, network resources can be reasonably utilized, so that more services can be transmitted through the network, and the quality of service provided to the services can be guaranteed as much as possible. In one example, if it is necessary to transmit data of a new service in the network (such as the aforementioned AI big data, surveying and mapping data, or materials), elastic network slicing can be used to carry the data of the new service. The increase of the new service data will not affect the service quality of other services.

[0104] The above introduces the message forwarding method provided in the embodiment of the present application. Next, the message forwarding method provided in the embodiment of the present application is introduced in combination with the scenario shown in Figure 1.

[0105] Next, two possible embodiments of the present application are introduced.

[0106] Example 1:

[0107] See Figure 4a, which is a schematic diagram of another exemplary application scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 4a, the CPE is connected to an ACC device, which is then connected to an AGG device. In one example, the CPE may correspond to the CPE in the scenario shown in Figure 1, the ACC device may correspond to the ACC device in Figure 1, and the AGG device may correspond to an intermediate device in the integrated bearer network in the scenario shown in Figure 1.

[0108] In one example, the network-side interfaces of the CPE, ACC device, and AGG device shown in FIG4a are all pre-configured with elastic network slices. Specifically, the CPE, ACC device, and AGG device can respectively receive configuration information of the elastic network slice sent by the controller, so that the network-side interfaces of the CPE, ACC device, and AGG device are configured with the elastic network slice. For the configuration information of the elastic network slice, please refer to the relevant description section above, which will not be repeated here.

[0109] In addition, the CPE may also receive a first indication message sent by the controller, the first indication message indicating that the user-side interface of the CPE is associated with the elastic network slice. Alternatively, the CPE may receive a flow processing policy sent by the controller, the flow processing policy indicating that a service message corresponding to a specific flow information needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice.

[0110] In one example, after receiving a service message, the CPE can determine that the service message needs to be forwarded through an elastic network slice, so the CPE uses the identifier of the elastic network slice to encapsulate the service message to obtain a data message. Furthermore, the data message is forwarded to the ACC device using the elastic network slice. After the ACC device receives the data message, it can forward the data message to the AGG device using the elastic network slice based on the identifier of the elastic network slice carried in the data message. Similarly, after the AGG device receives the data message, it can forward the data message using the elastic network slice based on the identifier of the elastic network slice carried in the data message. In one example, the forwarding of data messages using the elastic network slice mentioned here can be forwarding data messages using the resources currently occupied by the elastic network slice.

[0111] Example 2:

[0112] See Figure 4b, which is a schematic diagram of another exemplary application scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 4b, the CPE is connected to the ACC device, which is then connected to the AGG device. In one example, the CPE may correspond to the CPE in the scenario shown in Figure 1, the ACC device may correspond to the ACC device in Figure 1, and the AGG device may correspond to the intermediate device in the integrated bearer network in the scenario shown in Figure 1.

[0113] In one example, the CPE, ACC device, and AGG device shown in Figure 4b all enable the function of forwarding traffic using the elastic network slice. Specifically, the CPE, ACC device, and AGG device can respectively receive the second indication information sent by the controller, so that the CPE, ACC device, and AGG device enable the function of forwarding traffic using the elastic network slice.

[0114] In addition, the CPE may also receive a first indication message sent by the controller, the first indication message indicating that the user-side interface of the CPE is associated with the elastic network slice. Alternatively, the CPE may receive a flow processing policy sent by the controller, the flow processing policy indicating that a service message corresponding to a specific flow information needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice.

[0115] In one example, after receiving a service message, the CPE can determine that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice, so the CPE uses an indicator bit indicating that the elastic network slice is used for forwarding to encapsulate the service message to obtain a data message. Furthermore, the data message is forwarded to the ACC device using idle resources. After receiving the data message, the ACC device can forward the data message to the AGG device using idle resources based on the indicator bit carried in the data message. Similarly, after receiving the data message, the AGG device can forward the data message using idle resources based on the indicator bit carried in the data message.

[0116] In another example, the aforementioned second indication information includes an identifier of the elastic network slice. In this scenario: after the CPE receives the service message, it can determine that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice, so the CPE uses the identifier of the elastic network slice to encapsulate the service message to obtain a data message. Furthermore, the data message is forwarded to the ACC device using idle resources. After the ACC device receives the data message, it can forward the data message to the AGG device using idle resources based on the identifier of the elastic network slice carried in the data message. Similarly, after the AGG device receives the data message, it can forward the data message using idle resources based on the identifier of the elastic network slice carried in the data message.

[0117] In the above embodiment 1 and embodiment 2, the CPE, ACC device and AGG device may all correspond to the first network device mentioned in the above embodiments of the present application.

[0118] Based on the message forwarding method provided in the above embodiment, the embodiment of the present application also provides a corresponding device, which will be introduced below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0119] 5, which is a schematic diagram of a packet forwarding device according to an embodiment of the present application. The packet forwarding device 500 according to an embodiment of the present application can be applied to a first network device to execute the packet forwarding method provided by the first network device in the above embodiment.

[0120] In a specific example, the message forwarding device 500 includes: an acquiring unit 501 and a sending unit 502 .

[0121] The acquisition unit 501 is used to obtain a data packet, which includes elastic slice information. The elastic slice information indicates that the data packet is forwarded using an elastic network slice, and the resources of the elastic network slice are resources that can be preempted.

[0122] The sending unit 502 is used to forward the data message using the elastic network slice according to the elastic slice information.

[0123] In one possible implementation, the acquisition unit 501 includes a receiving unit and a processing unit; the receiving unit is used to receive a service message; the processing unit is used to determine that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice, and obtain the data message based on the service message and the elastic slice information.

[0124] In one possible implementation, determining that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice includes: determining that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice based on the interface for receiving the service message.

[0125] In a possible implementation, the receiving unit is further used to: receive first indication information sent by the controller, where the first indication information indicates that the interface is associated with the elastic network slice.

[0126] In one possible implementation, determining that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice includes: determining that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice based on the flow information to which the service message belongs.

[0127] In a possible implementation, the receiving unit is further used to: receive a flow processing policy sent by the controller, where the flow processing policy indicates that the service message corresponding to the flow information needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice.

[0128] In a possible implementation, the acquiring unit 501 is specifically a receiving unit, and the receiving unit is configured to receive the data message sent by the second network device.

[0129] In one possible implementation, the elastic slice information includes: an identifier of the elastic network slice.

[0130] In a possible implementation, the device includes a receiving unit that is further used to: receive configuration information of the elastic network slice sent by the controller, and the configuration information of the elastic network slice includes: an identifier of the elastic network slice and resource information of the elastic network slice.

[0131] In one possible implementation, the configuration information also includes the type of the elastic network slice, and the type of the elastic network slice indicates that the resources of the elastic network slice are resources that can be preempted.

[0132] In one possible implementation, the configuration information also includes the priority of the elastic network slice.

[0133] In one possible implementation, the elastic network slice is a network slice corresponding to a certain tenant, or the elastic network slice is a network slice corresponding to a certain service.

[0134] In one possible implementation, the elastic slice information includes: an indication bit indicating the use of elastic network slices for forwarding.

[0135] In one possible implementation, the apparatus includes a receiving unit that is further used to: receive second indication information sent by the controller, wherein the second indication information instructs the first network device to enable the function of forwarding traffic using the elastic network slice.

[0136] In one possible implementation, the data packet is an Internet Protocol version 4 IPv4 packet, and the elastic slice information is carried through the options field in the IPv4 header of the data packet.

[0137] In one possible implementation, the data packet is an IPv4 packet, and the elastic slice information is carried through the available bits in the service type field in the IPv4 header of the data packet.

[0138] In one possible implementation, the data packet is an Internet Protocol version 6 IPv6 packet, and the elastic slice information is carried through available bits in a traffic class field in the IPv6 header of the data packet.

[0139] In one possible implementation, the data packet is an IPv6 packet, the data packet includes a virtual transport network option VTN option, and the elastic slice information is carried through an identification flags field or a reserved field in the VTN option.

[0140] In a possible implementation, the sending unit 502 is used to: forward the data message using idle resources according to the elastic slice information.

[0141] In one possible implementation, the resources of the elastic network slice include: forwarding resources of the elastic network slice.

[0142] In one example, the hardware structure of the aforementioned message forwarding device 500 can be the structure shown in FIG6 , which is a schematic structural diagram of a device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0143] As shown in Figure 6 , device 600 includes a processor 610, a communication interface 620, and a memory 630. While the number of processors 610 in device 600 may be one or more, Figure 6 illustrates a single processor. In this embodiment of the present application, processor 610, communication interface 620, and memory 630 may be connected via a bus system or other means, with Figure 6 illustrating a connection via bus system 640 as an example.

[0144] Processor 610 may be a central processing unit (CPU), an NP, or a combination of a CPU and an NP. Processor 610 may further include a hardware chip. The hardware chip may be an ASIC, a programmable logic device (PLD), or a combination thereof. The PLD may be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL), or any combination thereof.

[0145] The memory 630 may include a volatile memory, such as a random-access memory (RAM); the memory 630 may also include a non-volatile memory, such as a flash memory, a hard disk drive (HDD), or a solid-state drive (SSD); or a combination of the aforementioned types of memory. The memory 630 may, for example, store the configuration information or the second indication information of the elastic network slice.

[0146] Optionally, the memory 630 stores an operating system and programs, executable modules or data structures, or subsets thereof, or extended sets thereof, wherein the programs may include various operating instructions for implementing various operations. The operating system may include various system programs for implementing various basic services and processing hardware-based tasks. The processor 610 can read the programs in the memory 630 to implement the method provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0147] Bus system 640 may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus. Bus system 640 may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, FIG6 shows only one thick line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0148] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, including instructions or a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in the above method embodiment.

[0149] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions or a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in the above method embodiment.

[0150] The terms "first," "second," "third," "fourth," and the like (if any) in the specification and claims of this application and in the accompanying drawings are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a particular order or sequential sequence. It should be understood that the terms used in this manner are interchangeable where appropriate so that the embodiments described herein can be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described herein. In addition, the terms "including" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, e.g., a process, method, system, product, or apparatus comprising a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products, or apparatus.

[0151] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0152] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of units is only a logical business division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interface, device or unit, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0153] Units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0154] In addition, each business unit in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated into a processing unit, each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into a single unit. The above-mentioned integrated units can be implemented in the form of hardware or software business units.

[0155] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software business unit and sold or used as a separate product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), disk or optical disk, and other media that can store program code.

[0156] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, in one or more of the above examples, the services described herein can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, these services can be stored on a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates the transmission of computer programs from one location to another. Storage media can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.

[0157] The above specific implementation methods further illustrate the objectives, technical solutions and beneficial effects of the present invention in detail. It should be understood that the above are only specific implementation methods of the present invention.

[0158] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A message forwarding method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The first network device obtains a data packet, where the data packet includes elastic slice information, where the elastic slice information indicates that the data packet is forwarded using an elastic network slice, and resources of the elastic network slice are preemptible resources; The first network device forwards the data packet using the elastic network slice according to the elastic slice information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first network device obtains the data packet, including: The first network device receives a service message; The first network device determines that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice; The first network device obtains the data message based on the service message and the elastic slice information.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The first network device determines that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice, including: The first network device determines, based on the interface for receiving the service message, that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first network device receives first indication information sent by the controller, and the first indication information indicates that the interface is associated with the elastic network slice.

5. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The first network device determines that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice, including: The first network device determines, based on the flow information to which the service message belongs, that the service message needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first network device receives a flow processing policy sent by the controller, and the flow processing policy indicates that the service message corresponding to the flow information needs to be forwarded through the elastic network slice.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first network device obtains the data packet, including: The first network device receives the data packet sent by the second network device.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The elastic slice information includes: The identifier of the elastic network slice.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first network device receives the configuration information of the elastic network slice sent by the controller, and the configuration information of the elastic network slice includes: the identifier of the elastic network slice and the resource information of the elastic network slice.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The configuration information also includes the type of the elastic network slice, and the type of the elastic network slice indicates that the resources of the elastic network slice are resources that can be preempted.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that The configuration information also includes the priority of the elastic network slice.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that The elastic network slice is a network slice corresponding to a certain tenant, or the elastic network slice is a network slice corresponding to a certain service.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The elastic slice information includes: Indication bit indicating the use of elastic network slices for forwarding.

14. The method according to any one of claims 13 or 1-7, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The first network device receives second indication information sent by the controller, and the second indication information instructs the first network device to enable the function of forwarding traffic using the elastic network slice.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that The data message is an Internet Protocol version 4 IPv4 message, and the elastic slice information is carried through the options field in the IPv4 header of the data message.

16. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that The data packet is an IPv4 packet, and the elastic slice information is carried through the available bits in the service type field in the IPv4 header of the data packet.

17. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that The data message is an Internet Protocol version 6 IPv6 message, and the elastic slice information is carried through the available bits in the traffic class field in the IPv6 header of the data message.

18. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that The data packet is an IPv6 packet, which includes a virtual transport network option VTN option, and the elastic slice information is carried through the identification flags field or reserved field in the VTN option.

19. The method according to any one of claims 8 or 13-18, characterized in that: The first network device forwarding the data packet using the elastic network slice according to the elastic slice information includes: The first network device forwards the data packet using idle resources based on the elastic slice information.

20. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 19, characterized in that: The resources of the elastic network slice include: The forwarding resources of the elastic network slice.

21. A message forwarding device, characterized in that: Applied to a first network device, the apparatus includes: an acquiring unit, configured to acquire a data packet, the data packet including elastic slice information, the elastic slice information indicating that the data packet is forwarded using an elastic network slice, and resources of the elastic network slice are preemptible resources; A sending unit is used to forward the data message using the elastic network slice according to the elastic slice information.

22. A device, characterized in that include: processor and memory; The memory is used to store instructions or computer programs; The processor is configured to execute the instructions or computer program and perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

23. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The method comprises instructions or computer programs, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

24. A computer program product, characterized in that The invention comprises a computer program which, when executed on a processor, executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

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